MARGAO
By now, Margao and its outskirts must have got the much-needed respite from the heavy National Highway traffic with the commissioning of the Western bypass.
In fact, it’s now four months since Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had thrown open the bypass for traffic on the eve of Christmas festivities in December last, after the Union Ministry for Road Surface and Transport went about the completion of the 11-km project on top priority.
What about the comprehensive drainage plan recommended by Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s emissary R K Pandey to avoid flooding at the Khareband-Benaulim flood-prone belt due to the construction of the bypass on earthen embankments?
Well, it’s now 20 months since the Central expert had made a host of recommendations to tackle flooding in the flood plains of River Sal around the Khareband-Benaulim water catchment area. Sadly, neither the recommendation to increase the water discharge capacity of the River Sal has been implemented to date, nor are the additional culverts on the Khareband-Benaulim-Varca road in place to date.
Take note that work on an additional culvert taken up on the Khareband-Varca road near Mercado Mall by the PWD, Roads before last year’s monsoons has hit a roadblock and is at the centre of a controversy over its height.
With the monsoons just a month away, there’s absolutely no change on the ground that would provide hope and reassure beleaguered residents of Benaulim that they would not face flooding this coming rainy season.
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Dredging still on paper
Exactly a year and eight months ago, Central expert R K Pandey recommended a comprehensive drainage plan at the Khareband-Benaulim area to mitigate floods during monsoons. The recommendations include de-silting and dredging of the River Sal.
In the report, Pandey underscored the need to augment the discharge capacity of River Sal via de-silting and dredging of the river. Sadly, the ground reality remains unchanged. The dredging of the River Sal to increase the discharge capacity is yet to take off to date. Enquiries with officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) have revealed that the department is in the process of preparing estimates for the River Sal de-silting/dredging work.
Even assuming the WRD finally prepares the estimates and the department grants its go-ahead signal, sources said the process of complying with the codal formalities is expected to consume some time. In fact, an official said the WRD will take up the work on the de-silting and dredging of the River Sal around the Benaulim-Khareband stretch only after the monsoons.
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Culvert work caught in delay
The PWD, Roads have set in motion the process to rectify the controversial culvert under construction at the Khareband-Varca road near the Mercado Mall. PWD officials have exuded confidence that work on the additional culvert will be completed before the onset of the monsoons.
The moot question, however, remains unanswered “ will the lone additional culvert suffice to drain off the floodwater from the Tolleaband water body into the adjoining River Sal?
Pandey had recommended additional culverts on the Khareband-Varca road after he came across only two small-sized culverts on the road. In fact, in his report submitted to the government, Pandey had pointed out that the Western bypass embankment erected through the Tolleaband water body has as many as 10 culverts, while the existing Khareband-Varca road plays host to merely two culverts.
The objective behind proposing additional culverts on the Khareband-Varca road by Pandey was to pave the way for quick drainage of floodwater from the Tolleaband water body into River Sal. It’s now 20 months since Pandey submitted his report, but work on the lone additional culvert is still dragging on at the site.
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Central expert on additional culverts
“The bypass is having 10 Nos. of balancing culverts in 650 m length (total area 157 sqm), the 750 m Varca road is having only 2 Nos. culverts (total area 36 sqm) for discharging water into the River Sal, which is insufficient for quick drainage. There is need to provide additional discharge areas from Varca road to River Sal by way of increasing the culvert size or its numbers,” Pandey said in his report.
